People with disabilities experience sexual violence at rates more than three times higher than people without disabilities (BJS, 2016)[1], yet national conversations around sexual assault often fail to meaningfully include survivors with disabilities. In recognition of National Sexual Assault Awareness Month, the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office on Violence Against Women (OVW), and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Community Living (ACL), are pleased to co-host a webinar for domestic and sexual violence service providers and community-based programs serving persons with disabilities, to: raise awareness of the prevalence of sexual violence among the populations we serve; highlight strong examples from the field; and share resources for further engagement and training to better support survivors with disabilities who have experienced sexual assault.

Closed Captioning will be provided. Please contact Alicia Lord at alord@ncjfcj.org if you have questions regarding this event.

[1] Rates of violent victimization against persons with and without disabilities, by type of crime, 2010–2014, examined by the Bureau for Justice Statistics (BJS), using data from the National Crime Victimization Survey, demonstrate that persons with disabilities experienced rape or sexual assault at a frequency of 1.7 per 1,000 persons, compared to a rate of 0.5 per 1,000 persons without disabilities. From: Crime Against Persons with Disabilities, 2009-2014 - Statistical Tables. November 2016, U.S. BJS.